By Lizz Panchyk
In August 2020, I finally had some sort of “graduation” from my high school, a time where things were very unknown due to Covid. Nearly four years later, a time I could not picture, I am graduating college with a Bachelor of Arts.
I started college at a very strange time. I only had one in-person class my first ever semester, and everyone was required to wear masks both inside and outside in addition to social distancing and vaccinations to ensure the campus was a safe place for all students. It wasn’t like it is now. The University Center was under construction, there was barely anyone on campus (which made for great parking) and there were really no events besides the occasional tabling event. It was hard to make friends, being online for classes, and even harder to enjoy my time on campus when there were hardly any activities or people to talk to.
But in my first semester, I also joined The Delphian. It was fully online at this point, with only Zoom meetings once and a while, and the editor-in-chief was Maria Giovanna Jumper ‘21. I continued the next semester, this time having all of my classes online. I think I was on campus a total of three times the entirety of the spring semester. In fall of 2022, the paper was finally brought back to print, which was so exciting to me. I was able to hold a newspaper that I wrote for and give copies to family, friends and teachers.
The mask-wearing continued until March 2022 when I was a sophomore. This is when the campus truly started to open back up, as the cherry blossoms bloomed a bright pink all over campus. While this was a great time, it felt strange, as if I didn’t have a first year, because I had missed out on all the first year experiences due to Covid. The past couple years have made up for it, with Adelphi going to all lengths to provide on campus activities and promote togetherness, and I have never felt more welcome. It saddens me that I am leaving at such a time where I have such a great community between The Delphian, my classes, my major and my friends.
I’ve grown so close to this school, even though I’ve been visiting this campus most likely since I was a baby, as my parents are alumni. Because of the love I have for Adelphi, it almost feels like I’m not truly leaving. I do feel that because of my unique experience, I was able to make the most out of my time at Adelphi. Not because of how close to campus I live, or how many times I’m on campus, but because of the connections I was able to make along the way. Adelphi has been a wonderful experience for me and even though my experience was different, I wouldn’t change a thing about it.
As I’ve been writing for The Delphian since my freshman year, I’ve learned so much from my experience writing for a team, working with a team. My team has grown and shifted shapes so many times in a way that has only made my experience more rewarding. I never thought I’d be saying goodbye to this paper the way I am right now. I’m incredibly grateful to be given this opportunity for the past three semesters, and I thank all of you for making my experience so much more than what it initially was. The Delphian will forever be in my heart.
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